Supreme Court rejects police officer's claim

The state’s highest court has rejected a local police officer’s claim he was improperly forced to take a lie detector test to keep his job.

Rich Harbert

The state’s highest court has rejected a local police officer’s claim he was improperly forced to take a lie detector test to keep his job.

The Supreme Judicial Court issued the ruling against Officer Kevin Furtado Wednesday, reaffirming lower court rulings in favor of Chief Robert Pomeroy and the town.

Furtado sought damages after he was forced to take the test in the wake of allegations he sexually abused two children in 1999. The district attorney investigated the allegations and decided not to file any criminal charges. But the district attorney did refer the case to Pomeroy for possible administrative action.

The police chief ordered Furtado to take the lie detector test as part of an internal investigation. Furtado took the test after being granted immunity from prosecution. The results of the test are disputed, but Pomeroy ultimately opted to take no administrative action against Furtado. He remains an active member of the police force.

Furtado filed for damages in 2002, claiming lie detector tests can only be ordered in criminal investigations, and his case was clearly not because he’d been given immunity.

A Superior Court judge found for Pomeroy and the town before the case ever went to trial. The state Appellate Court later affirmed the ruling.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed Wednesday, finding that police departments would otherwise never be able to order lie detectors tests for officers accused of serious misconduct.